Post Rhythmic Sanitation
by Her Name Was Rose-2
Summary: After the Sophie B. Hawkins Dance, Jeff stays behind to help Britta clean up. He feels guilty and needs to confess something to her.
Jeff stayed behind after the dance ended and helped Britta clean up. He figured he owed her at least that much considering how bad he'd been treating her. It took Pierce, ( _Pierce!_ ) of all people to point it out to him. He knew they'd been distant since they broke things off the previous year, and he knew why, he just didn't want to process those feelings.

"Thanks. You didn't have to stick around," Britta said as she came up behind him holding a black plastic garbage bag. She picked up a few cups from a table and put them in the bag.

Jeff took a breath, and gave her a small smile. "Yes I did," he admitted. He stopped and took her by the shoulders. "Britta, I meant what I said in that text. And I know I'm not very good at actually telling people how I feel, but I just want to tell you I'm sorry. I've been a jerk to you this year because, honestly, I don't know how to act around you."

She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off.

"No, please, I'm in the zone here, and I'm afraid if you don't let me finish, I'll lose my nerve."

She fake zipped her lips and threw away the key.

"The first year we were here I spent the entire time trying to get you to sleep with me. Even though you kept rejecting me, there was the thrill of the chase there. And in some strange way, from that, we became friends - best friends. Then last year, somehow we ended up actually hooking up. I don't know how that didn't freak me out, sleeping with you pretty much every other day, after you told me you loved me - whether it was true or not. Maybe I was trying to make you hate me. Maybe I was giving in to how I felt. I don't know. But then we just ended things, and it happened so fast."

He looked down and paused, then looked up and straight into her eyes, "truth is, if I had known the last time was going to be the last time, I would have paused to remember every moment of it and every inch of ... " he trailed off.

"Jeff," Britta said sympathetically.

"Please, I'm almost done."

"Okay."

"I'm not trying to make any grand declaration or some sappy bullshit like that, but I feel like I've been unnecessarily distant this year. I put you down and make fun of you and mess around with Annie."

"You what?!" Britta exclaimed and dropped the plastic bag she was holding.

"No, not like that..." he closed his eyes, squeezed the bridge of his nose and took a breath. "Something inside of me needs someone looking up to me, putting me on a pedestal. Annie definitely does that and I let her, even though she's 17 years younger than me and I know nothing's really ever going to happen with her. That probably makes me the worlds biggest jerk, but I am who I am."

Britta brought her arms up and took him around the shoulders into a hug as he continued.

"What I'm trying to get at is that I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you." He wrapped his arms around her waist. "You don't deserve that. I finally realized how bad it was when it was Pierce who pointed it out to me. When Pierce is your moral compass, you know you've hit rock bottom."

They both let go of each other and stepped back. Britta looked at him and smiled.

"Jeff, it's okay. I understand because I feel the same way."

"You do?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. I don't know what it is, but there's something about our relationship that makes me know we'll be in each other's lives forever. I don't know what that means, but this feels different from anything else I've ever had."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Maybe that means something, or maybe it doesn't. But I would like to go back to when we were best friends. I miss you," she admitted. "And I mean I miss the _real_ you," she said as she poked a finger on his chest.

"I do too." He continued, "I feel like I'm pushing you away because I can't stand to..." he looked down and trailed off again.

"To what?" she asked.

"Britta," he said breathily, and looked back up, "Troy is my friend."

"Oh," she said as if she finally understood. She looked down, and toed the foot of the table with her floral Doc Marten's before looking back up. "Yeah, well he's supposedly my _boyfriend_ but look who's actually the one here helping me clean up," she said, then gave him a guilty smile. "He and Abed left together." She made a face, "honestly, I feel like Troy and Abed are the ones in the relationship and I'm just the third wheel."

They both laughed, then Britta leaned down to pick up the plastic garbage bag from the floor.

"Anyway-" Jeff sighed as he picked up a bottle and tossed it into the bag Britta was holding. "How _did_ you manage to pull this off?" he asked awkwardly, trying to change the subject.

She knew what he was doing, but let him. "Honestly, I don't know." She looked around the cafeteria at all the decorations and smiled before returning her gaze to him. "I thought I had majorly Britta-ed this."

"No, don't say that," he said with a sad look on his face, then after a moment it changed and he looked smug, "only we get to use your name like that."

She hit his shoulder, "shut up, Winger!"

They smiled at each other then went back to collecting used cups and beer bottles from the tables before calling it a night.

On the way home she got a text.

 _Good night, kitten._ Jeff wrote.

 _Good night, cool cat._ She replied.


End file.
